KLBO in Monahans sold

[icebreaker]

KLBO-am 1330 in Monahans was sold today for $85,000!!!

I'm stunned about this, due to all the FCC violations the station has? It's licensed for 5000 watts daytime, and has been broadcasting at half that for 2 years! The night signal is licensed as a directional pattern, however they run non-direction, and yes at only half power?

An engineer buddy of mine in Odessa says it was about to go dark... than some local purchased it.

What's the story with this wild deal?

[jd]

KLBO-am 1330 in Monahans was sold today for $85,000!!!

I'm stunned about this, due to all the FCC violations the station has? It's licensed for 5000 watts daytime, and has been broadcasting at half that for 2 years! The night signal is licensed as a directional pattern, however they run non-direction, and yes at only half power?

An engineer buddy of mine in Odessa says it was about to go dark... than some local purchased it.

What's the story with this wild deal?

Good question.  I noticed that they were operating under an STA a few months ago, so maybe that had something to do with the reduced power operation.  Other than that, it sounds like a typical fire sale.

[omega]

Well i can tell you all the details! The ground system was a mess due to some oil drilling and the transmitor would burn transistors like crazy so it was never easy to keep it at full power! Their was a few ppl interested in buying it but the owner was asking for way to much!

[JerryK]

Yes indeed, KLBO was a mess.  It's new name will be KCKM.
I'm one of the parties buying it.  It was running 2200 watts thanks to blown mosfets in the Gates 5 PA cards and a couple PDM cards had trouble.
She's hitting on all cylinders again.
We are working on the night DA.  The transmitter was moved to the base of the half wave stick but somebody forgot about phase line length etc.  We have moved the tranny and phasor back to the original transmitter building again.
Current fun is replacing cut wiring to contactor switches etc.
No idea how long the tower lighting had been wacko.
Running several radials showed that the ground system problem wasn't as severe as it could have been.  Luckily most of the disruption of the field is 10-15 degrees wide 130-150 from the tower.  We sure won't have any problem meeting efficiency minimums with a half wave stick.  Plus in an overkill they put in halfwave ground radials when they built the place in the early 60's.
Target date to return to the air is early August.

[dx7]

Thanks for the update -- Glad to hear that someone is saving a heritage AM at a time when several AMs in East Texas have gone dark and have even lost their licenses because of owner neglect.

Best of luck to you with KCKM.

[JerryK]

1330 in Monahans is back on the air at full steam.  Presently stunting the new format for the next 10 days to 2 weeks under the calls KCKM.
Thanks in part to Bill Enlow out of Lubbock, have RF bridge, will travel.

[omega]

WHATS THE NEW FORMAT AT 1330AM IS IT REACHING ODESSEA/MIDLAND?

[nipper1234]

The format is classic country...the station sounds very good. Audio quality is better than when it was KLBO and the signal does seem to be fairly strong into the north Ector/Midland Co. area. By the time you get to the city of Midland though it has gotten too weak to really listen.
Only problem I have heard have been some satellite dropouts in the network programming. It seems to have a satellite country format sort of like Real Country but I like the personalities better. I like the AP network news and the local weather forecasts.
Also I heard an old-fashioned style KCKM jingle which I enjoyed hearing. Did you have that jingle newly made?

[JerryK]

Thanks for the kind words.  1330 is runnning at full power for possibly the first time in years.  Presently putting a .9mv into Odessa  but surprisingly 1mv into Fort Stockton and a .2mv up in Carlsbad.  Lot to be said for a half wave tower.
The jingles are a hybrid of the KCKN jingles with a resung "M".
KCKM is a mirror image of KCKN in Roswell using the same classic country format, simulcast in drive times and late night.  Other local origination will be
high school sports, local news cast and a daily swap shop program.
The dropouts will be short lived as we're putting in a microwave link.

[nipper1234]

Today I was able to hear KCKM very clearly in Midland in my 1978 Mercury with Philco-Ford radio...these old AM car radios plus lack of computers/electronics in the old car really gives a lot better AM performance than in a "modern" car.
It's good to have some more AM music choices to listen to...I think I prefer the new KCKM over the competition (KRIL 1410 & KACT 1360)